19 months ago our world changed. Most of us were living a relatively comfortable life and pursuing our dreams when the virus ushered us all into a new season wrought with unimaginable confusion.
As two weeks became 30 days and the pandemic worsened, some of us blamed our politicians, some of us blamed the Chinese, and some of us merely leaned back and let the cards play out.
The spiritual
Sadly, but really not that not unusual, the vast majority of people failed to look deeper into the true root of the problem. It was easier to cast blame. By and large we were all spiritually unaware of what was happening.
Spiritual unawareness is nothing new. Relative comfort and a love of the things of this world take hold of us to the point we give God scant attention. Sure, we might go to church, mumble a few words of prayer, and throw a few bucks into the collection plate, but most of us were not pursuing God because we were so self-centered and tuned into the things of this world (and many remain so).
Discernment was not our strong point. We failed to recognize what was really happening in our world, and this despite the fact it has been happening since the creation: a spiritual war that pits the rulers of darkness against God's light and truth.
Our talents
All of us have something we are very good at. We were working to refine these talents, made adjustments and corrected our mistakes, and we toiled to make our hobby or work more closer to the best it could possibly be. But we forgot the fact that God deserved nothing less than the very same thing! We set apart His precepts and commands for the pursuit of worldly things and self to the point that He intervened.
BOD
BOD is an acronym which is a pattern of the ancient Jews and contemporary Christians. When the Jews followed after idols and rejected God they went into bondage. This is observed when the Israel went into Babylonian captivity in 721 B.C., and then Judah in 587 B.C. Here, all of Israel (one people divided into two nations) were oppressed by their captors. And finally, when Israel and Judah recognized the errors of their ways and returned to the truth, God delivered them from captivity. We can see the same pattern today if we possess discernment.
You see, every generation has to believe and obey God. When generations fail to do so, God brings about judgment to bring us back to the truth. It is a painful season, much like the one we are facing today. God wants us to be spiritually aware of the long-running spiritual war being fought between light and darkness and participate in His plan.
The spirit of the world
The pandemic caused me to take a hard look at myself. Initially, I blew the two weeks off, because it was like a vacation to me. But when the virus spread and draconian measures kicked in, I went on a 30-day drunk. It was my way of attempting to numb the pain of my errant ways (sin in my life). I didn't want to face the fact that I called myself a Christian but lived for worldly things.
God did not give up on me (and He hasn't given up on you). Soon enough, I began to think clearer and made a decision to put aside the drunkenness and fully devote myself to God, much like Israel and Judah of old.
I recognized three things: 1. treating God casually like a magic genie when I was in need was my downfall; 2. I had become too worldly, indulging and loving pleasure rather than loving God; and 3. not using the discernment God gave me put me in a place where I blamed others rather than recognizing the true problem: spiritual warfare was increasing and changing the world, not for the better but instead for the worse.
What do we do now?
Some of us, nay, a lot of us have moved from the bondage of self and the world to oppression. Many continue to indulge and follow the ruler of this age and darkness. Money, fame, notoriety, sexual immorality, and more continues to rule lives and are oppressive, as opposed to the freedom in Christ we should be enjoying.
We must return to the truth to be delivered. There are four things we can do right now to experience our respective deliverance.
We need to believe and repent. This is not a casual exercise. We need introspection to see where we have gone astray and turn from it all. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher and Comforter.
We need to develop our listening skills and be aware of what is happening in the spiritual world. Oh, you don't believe in the spiritual battles between light and darkness? Hmm, Jesus did! We read: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12, NIV).
We need to be crucified with Christ and put off our carnal nature. We need to watch what is happening and do God's will, which are His commands.
We need to participate in God's plan and make a return to the painful truth.
Remember and also do these things
Keep in mind that evil is unrelenting. The tormentors of darkness are hard at work because Satan knows his time is short. The battle rages on but the good news is that God wins in the end.
We must minimize our vulnerability. To accomplish this, we need to pray, praise God, take control of our emotions, put aside immoral thoughts, and use our discernment. We need to pay close attention to what we watch and listen to, for these are entry points for the tormentors of darkness.
Ready, set, go!
Are you willing right now to return to the truth? Simply ignoring the truth does not remove you from the arena of darkness but rather makes one more vulnerable.
Are you able to recognize that a spiritual war is ongoing which seeks to destroy our faith? Satan and his tormentors are well-organized!
Can you and are you willing to commit to putting aside self and its pursuit of worldly things? God is at work. He has an assignment for you and me. Normal has moved. Everything is new with each passing day. We cannot outspend our problems but we can give them all to God, who is waiting for us to return to His ways.
I believe in God, I am happy in life, God helps us.